Classic Scorecards: Pete Rose Passes Ty Cobb

Pete celebrating his record breaking hit while standing on first base

September 11th, 1985

Sixteen years before this date became a rallying cry it was fixed in my brain as the day that Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb for the most hits all time. On September 8th he tied Cobb at Wrigley field by going 2 for 5 on a day that he wasn’t even supposed to play. Late in his career Pete only batted left handed, and never faced left handed pitchers. On September 8th Cubs starter Steve Trout was supposed to take the hill. The night before his start he fell off his bicycle, and had to miss the start. That meant that Pete was in the lineup just two hits short of tying the record. I remember seeing this game on TV at my old house in town. Reggie Patterson started the game in place of Trout. Pete wasted no time by getting a hit in the first inning. He also picked up a hit in the 5th that tied Cobb for the most hits all time. Pete batted twice more in the game, and came up empty. The game was delayed for over two hours in the 8th, and finally suspended in after the ninth inning. It was declared an official game despite ending as a 5-5 tie. Pete did not play the next night in Cincinnati, and went 0-4 against Lamarr Hoyt on the 10th to set up the big night.

Classic Scorecards: 1965 World Series Game 7

Last summer I read a great book about Dodgers Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy. In the book she detailed just how bad Koufax was hurting near the end of his career. She really went into detail about the 1965 season, and how much pain he must have been in every time he took the hill. The Dodgers tried to protect him by going to a five man rotation. Of course today this seems normal. After throwing a complete game in Spring Training his arm turned black and swelled up. He was told that he would be lucky to pitch once a week, and that he would eventually loose the use of his arm. Newspapers were predicting the demise of Sandy. Of course he went on to throw 335 innings and strike out a record 382 men. He also led the league in wins and ERA. He also threw a perfect game in September. I guess pain is what you make it. When asked about throwing in pain Koufax just said “my heroism is greatly overstated.” With this in mind it makes it even more improbable that Koufax was pitching in game seven against the Twins. He sat out game one because it fell on Yom Kippur. He the pitched game two, and lost to Jim Kaat. With the series tied at two he pitched a complete game shutout in game 5. With his arm troubles many would have predicted that this was the last time Koufax would pitch in 1965. The Dodgers had another great arm on full rest in Don Drysdale so he would probably get the ball. Manager Walter Alston rolled the dice though and put Koufax on the mound on only two days rest.

Classic Scorecards: July 1st, 1990 Andy Hawkins No-Hits White Sox, But Loses Game

Andy Hawkins threw a no-hitter in 1990, but lost twice

The first White Sox game for this feature is one that I remember very well from childhood. I remember watching this game on TV as I did many games back then. 1990 was a great year for the no-hitter. In June Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Dave Stewart, and Fernando Valenzuela all threw no-hitters. Now it makes sense why everyone started hitting the juice in the early 90’s.

Andy Hawkins and Greg Hibbard pitched a great game that day in July. Hibbard pitched seven innings giving up only four hits and no runs. White Sox reliever Barry Jones came in to pitch a hitless 8th leading up to the bottom of the 8th inning.

Classic Scorecards: April 8, 1974 Hank Aaron’s 715th Home Run

 

Hank Aaron running the bases after passing Babe Ruth for most home runs all time

Thirty seven years ago today Hammerin’ Hank hit #715 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hank spent the entire off season just one home run shy of the Babe. The buildup of pressure during those months had to be something else. Hank came out on Opening Day and tied the Babe. That set up this game, and the moment that we all know so well. Barry Bonds has since passed Hank, but for some reason the record by Hank means more to me. Growing up the numbers 714 and 715 meant something. They still do today.

Classic Scorecards: October 12th, 1986 ALCS Game 5

Dave Henderson celebrating his home run with Bob Boone looking on

I really wanted to feature the Opening Day no-hitter that Bob Feller threw today. I have tried to track down anything that would help me reconstruct the scorecard. I have sent out emails to various museums to see if they have any information. I have found nothing so far, but it is not a total loss. The game that takes its place is a pretty good one too. Game five of the 1986 ALCS will always stick in my mind. I was going to to this one early in the process anyway, but after the strikeout on Feller info and the MLB special I saw this week decided to just do it now.

Classic Scorecards: 1985 World Series Game Six

One of my first scorecards

The internet is a wonderful thing. A couple of weeks ago I found a very cool site called Eephus League. Through that site I found another one called The Baseball Enthusiast. One of the first posts that I saw on there was one where he took a look at the second game of the 1985 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. His site is all about going to ball games and keeping score. That got me thing about the first games that I scored. They were during that same series, and I still keep score to this day. I find that the longer I attend ballgames the more I notice how crazy people think I am for keeping score. They ask me why I bother? My explanation is simple. I always have.